North Dakota Duo a part of the Dirty Dozen

CANTON  The North Dakota duo arrested in St. Lawrence County Sunday night are part of a group of sex offenders looking to sue former Governor George E. Pataki for $10 million each.

Robert J. Warren Jr., 49, and Louis Lisa J. Massei, 52, a cross-dresser who has told sheriffs deputies that he is a woman, are a part of what has been called New Yorks Dirty Dozen, the first 12 Level 3 sex offenders placed in civil confinement by former Gov. Pataki after serving their time in prison.

They were released in November of 2005 after Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann of State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled that it was unconstitutional and ordered the release of the 12 after they were recently confined by order of then-Gov. Pataki to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center after their prison sentences ended.

Currently locked up in St. Lawrence County Jail for second-degree burglary, a class E violent felony and petit larceny, a class A misdemeanor, after burglarizing the DeKalb home of one of Warrens estranged family members, Warren and Massei are two of five men along with the estate of a sixth seeking payment for damages in a civil suit claiming their constitutional rights were violated. And the sheriffs office received a federal court order to transport them to the New York City trial on the countys dime.

Sheriff Kevin M. Wells said his office had received the court order and that the office had no choice but to abide.

There is no reimbursement that weve been made aware of at this point, Sheriff Wells said. We have to follow the court order and turn them over to the U.S. Marshals.

Officials at the U.S. Marshals Southern District of New York Office said that while the sheriffs office reached out to them for some kind of assistance in the transport, the law prevents them from being involved in civil suits.

Per USMS policy, state prisoners in Federal Civil Cases: The custodian of the prisoner is responsible for transporting and producing state or local prisoners in a federal civil case, Deputy U.S. Marshal Kevin R. Kamrowski said in an email. The federal court order will be directed to the state or local authority that has custody of the prisoner. The U.S. Marshals Service will maintain necessary levels of courtroom security for the prisoner(s) only when specifically requested by the federal judge hearing the case.

Sheriff Wells said his office requested a change of date for the transport of Warren and Massei, which he was granted; however, he said he didnt want to disclose that date due to concerns of the dangerous nature of the two men.

Detective Sergeant Gus Burns of the St. Lawrence County Sheriffs department furthered that there may be additional charges pending against Warren and Massei including a second count of second-degree burglary and grand larceny for another robbery in a Morristown residence where handguns and other property, including a laptop computer, were found to be missing.

Detective Sgt. Burns added that Warren has a case against him in Wisconsin, as further investigation uncovered stolen property not only from the two reported burglaries in St. Lawrence County, but from one other crime committed in Wisconsin, where a wallet was stolen from a vehicle and Warren was caught on camera using a stolen credit card.

Warren and Massei are still being held in St. Lawrence County jail, Canton, with Warren held without bail, and Massei held on $10,000 bail or $20,000 bond.

Sheriffs investigators said there is an ongoing investigation involving law enforcement officials from New York to North Dakota.

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